Autographic register



Oct. 17, 1961 .1. B. SCHLIEMANN AUTOGRAPHIC REGISTER 5 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Dec. 2, 1958 1 FHHHH I l H I00 ma x ii WmZI f Oct. 17, 196.1 J. B.SCHLIEMANN AUTOGRAPHIC REGISTER 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed D80. 2, 1958lewezaioa ZZZ/1w 5. J'ch/femdnn 54E Warm.

J. B. SCHLIEMANN AUTOGRAPHIC REGISTER Oct. 17, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 3Filed Dec. 2, 1958 J/ h us B. Jchmdnn 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 J. B. SCHLIEMANNAUTOGRAPHIC REGISTER Oct. 17, 1961 Filed Dec. 2. 1958 Oct. 17, 1961 J.B. SCHLIEMANN AUTOGRAPI-IIC REGISTER 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed D60. 2, 1958Eagle. 0

g3 H iss I III" fawezzior @V/Q/S 3 \PCh/l Md nr? 3 W M24 vfwmfliioflazeys United States Patent 34904575 AUTOGRAPHIC REGISTE Julius B.Schliemann, Beverly, Mass., assignor to Royal Business Forms, Inc., acorporation of New Hampshire Filed Dec. 2, 1958, Ser. No. 777,683 4Claims. (Cl. 282-) This invention relates to autographic registers whichare machines commonly used in business establishments, principally formaking records of sales. In the conventional machine, a plurality ofoverlying printed forms with carbon paper or equivalent therebetween aresequentially fed to a writing position so that a written record made onthe top form will be duplicated on all of the underlying forms; Afterthe record of the sale or transaction has been made on one set of forms,the forms are advanced in such manner that the topmost forms can be tornoff for distribution while the bottommostform remains in the machine asa continuous permanent recordfor subsequent use by an appropriatedepartment of the business.

. One type of form that has come into common use with autographicregisters is the so-called flat pack in which a plurality ofsuperimposed continuous forms, usually three but not limited to anyparticular number, are appropriately printed and numbered and assembledin zigzag formation to provide a pile of continuous forms of limitednumber. Such a pack provides enough forms for several days business inthe ordinary establishment so that reloading is not burdensome. Thistype of form is relatively economical, as it may be printed in smallquantities and sold at a low price in comparison to the longer formspackaged in individual rolls.

.Autographic registers with which folded flat packs have heretofore beenused have functioned satisfactorily but have had the disadvantage ofbeing of unduly large dimensions. This has been because of the necessityof providing a collecting bin at and beyond the discharge end of thewriting table at least as large as the form. Such machines have occupiedexcessive space and hence many attempts have been made to provide aregister of smaller dimensions. One obvious way of reducing thedimensions of such a device would be to position the folded flat pack offorms in a supply compartment located where it would be partially underthe writing table and to locate the collecting bin also under thewriting table instead of therebeyond. Registers made according to thisgeneral plan are to be found in the prior art. However, such machineshave failed to come on the market because no means, so far as I amaware, has been developed which is capable of successfully refolding thebottommost form in a collecting bin located under the writing table.Such refolding is necessary so that when the strip of folded formsconstituting the folded flat pack has been completely utilized thebottommost strip of sheets will be folded properly in the collecting binfor subsequent removal and use by the accounting or other departments ofthebusiness.

A Accordingly, a principal object of the invention is to provide anautographic register having a supply compartment in which a folded flatpack of forms may be placed. a writing table above the supplycompartment and over which the forms may be drawn and held in stationaryposition while writing is applied thereto, feeding mechanism forpullingthe forms from the supply compartment to position a new set offorms at the writing table while directing the bottommost forms to acollecting bin located beneath the writing table and in which they willautomatically be positioned and folded one on the other in invertedposition while the upper forms are directed to an exterior positionwhere they may be torn ofi for 3,004,775 Patented Oct. 17, 1961 Anotherobject of the invention is to provide means capable of causing properregistration of each new set of forms brought to the writing table fromthe supply compartment. Still another object of the invention is toprovide common means for advancing the forms over the writing table andfor causing the bottommost form to be properly folded in the collectingbin in inverted position.

These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent asthe description proceeds with the aid of the accompanying drawings inwhich FIG. 1 is a plan view with a portion of the rear cover broken awayto show part of the driving belts and part of the hinge of the writingtable.

FIG. 2 is a vertical section taken approximately on the line 22 of FIG.1.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 with the form advanced one full sheetbeyond the position shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIGS. 2 and 3 but with the form advancedapproximately one-half sheet beyond that shown in FIG. 3. V

FIG. 5 is a vertical section to enlarged scale taken on the line 55 ofFIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 2 drawn to enlarged scale to show inmore detail the lefthand end of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary side elevation of the lefthand end of FIG. 1showing the lid broken away and in raised position. In this view theforms have been omitted to show more clearly the relationship of the farend of the writing table and the flap.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged vertical section takenon the line 8-8 of FIG. 5about 30 degrees before the aligning fingers have reached the end oftheir 360 degree movement. v

FIG. 9 is an enlarged vertical section taken on the line 9-9 of FIG. 5,showing the operation of the flap that causes the uppermost sheets ofthe form to leave the register as the forms are advanced from thewriting table.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the flap and writing table with the lidremoved.

Now referring to the several figures, the register comprises what may bereferred to as an enclosed generally boxlike, housing which includestherein the operating mechanism as well as the supply compartment S andthe collecting bin M. There is an upper hinged lid which may be raisedto permit insertion of the folded flat pack in the supply compartment S,and there is a hinged closure at the rear end of the register which maybe swung away to permit removal of the folded sheets from the collectingbin M.

Referring now more particularly to the figures; the housing comprises abottom 2 having vertical sides 4 and 6 and mounted on any suitable typeof legs 8 which preferably have non-slip bottom surfaces. The housing isclosed at its front end by an upwardly extending wall 10, at the'top bya lid 12, and at the rear by a hinged rear wall 14. Thelid 12 hasdepending sides 16 and 18, the terminal ends of which as at 29 and 22are pivoted to the sides 4 and 6 by means of a transversely extendingshaft 24 held in place by any convenient means such as the cotter pinsillustrated.

The lid 12 when viewed from the top as in FIG. lhas' a rectangularopening 26 through which the forms of the pack are-successively exposed.The formsare supported by a writing table 28 which is supported by thewall 6 and an inner intermediate wall 30 (see FIG. 10). The writingtable 28 has at its lower end rollers 32 over which the forms passasthey are drawn to writing position from the supply compartment S. Shaft33 carries the' rollers 32 and also the hinges 35 of table 28, Thesupply compartment is in the form of a shallow rectangular tray havinga. bottom 34,. a back wall 36 and side walls comprising the adjacentparts of walls 6 and 30.

When the lid 12 is raised as indicated in FIG. 7, the front end ofcompartment S between rollers 32 and wall 10 will be exposed so that apack of folded flat forms may be placed therein. Such a pack .issuggested by the solid zigzagging lines appearing in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4..It. will be understood, however, that the pack comprises a. substantialnumber of forms. Each solid line in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 indicates aplurality of superimposed forms with carbon paper or equivalenttherebetween. The multiple forms are drawn together as a unit from thecompartment S to the writing table 28. Then as the forms are'againadvanced upper forms indicated at A and B in FIGS. 2, 3, 4, 6 and 9pass'out of the machine to be subsequently torn off and the bottom formCis deposited in the collecting bin M.

The collecting bin M is defined by the bottom 2, a vertical front wall38, the side walls 6 and 30 and the rear hinged wall 14. As can best beseen in FIGS. 1, 6 and 9, wall 14 is hinged to a pin 40, the ends ofwhich are carried by' walls 6 and 30.

The lid 12 at the rear end of the opening 26 terminates in a crosswiseextending channel 42 which is sufficiently rigid to act as a support forthe upper feed rollers. As can best be seen in FIGS. 1, and 6, thechannel 42 has mounted thereon three guide blocks 44, 46 and 48 withvertical slots therein such as illustrated at 50 in block 46 shown inFIGS. 2 and 6. These blocks maintain in position a transverselyextending shaft 52 which carries upper feed rollers 54 and 56. The slotsin blocks 46 and 48 contain compression springs 58- which beardownwardly on shaft 52 to urge the rollers 54 and 56 downwardly when thelid 12 is closed and the rollers are in operating position.

' Blocks 46 and 48 are secured to channel 42 by screws 60, while block44, which does not contain a compression spring, is secured by a pair ofbolts 62. A small gear 64 is afiixed to the righthand end of shaft 52(see FIGS. 1 and 5 and this gear'meshes with a larger gear 66 locatedinside wall 4 and mounted on shaft 68. One end of shaft 68 is carried bywall 4 and the other end by the wall 6. The intermediate portion of theshaft 68 is enlarged at 70 with hubs 72 and 74. To these hubs are boltedgrooved pulleys 76 and 78 over which extend rubber driving belts 80 and82. These belts, as can be seen from FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, also pass over aroller 84 suitably grooved as at 85 (see FIG. 6) to maintain the beltsin position thereon. Roller 84 is carried by shaft 86v which issupported by walls 6 and 4. The belts also pass over a pair of idlers8.8 and 90 rotatably mounted on shaft 92 and also around the undersideof a second pair of idlers 94 and 96 rotatably mounted on shaft 98.

On the left end of shaft 68 there is a crank 100 having a handle 102 formanual manipulation. When crank 100 is turned counterclockwise, asviewed in FIG. 7, it is apparent that the belts 80 and 82 will becorrespondingly driven by the pulleys 76 and 78. The number of teeth onthe gears 64 and are so related that thelinear travel of the surfaces offeed rollers 54 and 56 during one revolution will equal the lineartravel of the belts 80 and 82. The forms are of such length that onerevolution of crank 100 will advance the forms exactly the length of onesheet.

The forms are caused to be drawn out'of the supply compartment S in thefollowing manner: After the forms are initially placed in compartment S,the top setofforms, which consists, forexample, of three identicalsuperimposed forms which for reference will be referred to as sheets A,B and C, are drawn by hand out and toward the rear of the register overthe. writing table 28, the lid 12 of course being raised at this time.Each of the sheets. A, B and C near its advancing'edge has, as shown inFIGS. 1, 5, 6 and 8, a pair of holes: 104.- and 10.6. These holes,indicated by the two short; transverse.

lines H--H in FIGS. 2, 3, 4' and 6, are designed to serve as aligningmeans acting in cooperation with a pair of fingers 108 and 110 mountedon shaft 68 and in a fixed angular relation with the pulleys 76 and 78.

The leading two upper sheets A and B are passed over a separating flap112 (see. FIG. 9) which is pivotally mounted on a shaft 114, the endsofwhich are carried by the sides 6 and 30. These. two upper sheets A andB, as shown in FIG. 9, can pass beyond and above the rear of thehousing, moving under the transverse support 42 of the lid 12 and overthe flap 112 just referred to. The bottom sheet designated C is fed to aposition. below flap 112 on top of belts and 82. and inside the hinged"rear wall 14. The fingers 108' and 110 positioned as shown in FIGS; 5and 6 will be located in the holes 104 and 186 of the three sheets A, Band C. This can be seen in FIGS. 5 and 6. The fold lines of the sheetsA, B and C, as illustrated in FIG. 9 when the fingers 108 and 110 are inthe positions shown in FIG. 6, will be at the locations indicated at130. This is immediately adjacent the relatively sharp corner 132 of thetear element 134. Thus the user may readily sever sheets A and B fromthe following corresponding sheets A1 and B1 by' tearing them offin theusual manner.

In order to limit the rotation of crank 10% to a single revolution andto cause the fingers 108 and 118 to cease their rotation at the sameposition at the end of each revoltuion, latching means is provided inthe form of two outwardly extending spring pressed pins 116 and 118which are mounted in the side wall 6. When the crank isto be turnedcounterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 7, the pin 116 is pressed inwardly topermit the arm 1% to be moved. This initiates the advance of the sheetsA, B and C which are under pressure between the upper feed rollers 54and 56 and the. belts 88 and 82, as can be seen in FIG. 5. As rotationof crank 100 continues, initial sheets A and B will be moved to aposition outside the housing as shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, for example, andthe bottom sheet C will be carried around the inside of curved rear wall14' to pass down into the collecting bin M. When crank 106 has movedthrough 360 degrees, further rotation is prevented by engagement withthe underside of pin 116 which is then in the position shown in FIGS. 1and 5.. On the inner surface of crank 108 is a cam 120 which is alignedwith pin 118. As crank 100 advancesto its final positionagainst pin 116,pin 118 will be depressed as it slides along the sloping surfaces of cam12%. The length of cam 12.0 is such that pin 118 will drop off the rearedge thereof just before crank 100 engages pin 116. In this way rotationof crank 108 in a clockwise direction is prevented. The only directioninwhich crank 100 can thereafter be moved is counterclockwise and thiscan. occur only when pin 116 is again.

depressed. Thus it is possible to achieve step-by-step advance ofsuccessive sets of'sheets A, B and C.

With each revolution of crank 180, the sheets A, B and C are broughtinto accurate realignment by the means shown in FIG. 8. Just, beforethe. fingers 108 and arrive at final position at the end of an advancingrevolution of crank 100, the gripping pressure on the sheets A,

so that the sheets are no longer squeezed between the.

feed rollers and the belts. At this point, however, the outer ends ofthe fingers 108' and 110. have entered the holes 104 and 106 of theseveral sheets and as the fingers advance to their final position, asillustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the fingers alone carry the sheets forwardto such.

final position and in so doing. necessarily bring the sheets which arethenfree; of" other restraints to correct aligned position. With thefingers in the position of FIG. 6,

pressure of the feed rollers 54 and 56 against the belts 80 and 82 willhave been re-established so ascrank 100 is started on its nextrevolution the belts will act as the driving force to carry the sheetsforward.

It is thought that the movement of the folded sheets as they arewithdrawn step by step from the supply compartment S is obvious andsufficiently illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 so as not to requirefurther explanation. However, the behavior of the bottom sheet C as itarrives in the collecting bin M is of great importance and the foldingof this bottom sheet is to be considered a major accomplishment of theinvention.

As the first sheet C is advanced from the writing table position byrotation of crank 100, it becomes inverted as it is reversely turned bythe curved rear wall 14. The leading edge 124 will initially engage thebottom 2 of collecting bin M at approximately the position shown indotted lines in FIG. 6. As the crank 100 is turned a second time, theleading edge 124 of sheet C will slide along the, bottom 2 until it isstopped by engagement with the vertical wall 38. As the 360 degreerotation of the crank is completed, the first sheet C will then assumethe position shown in FIGS. 2 and 6 lying flat on the bottom 2 while thesecond sheet C1 will have assumed approximately the position shown inFIG. 6 in which it is folded with respect to sheet C at the fold line126. Sheet C1 is buckled in such manner that the inverted underfacethereof by virtue of the resiliency of the paper presses upwardlyagainst the belts 80 and 82. When the crank 100 is rotated for the thirdtime, the sheets C1 and C2 will be carried forward by the feed rollersacting in cooperation with the belts 80 and 82. Additionally the sheetC1 is carried toward the far end of collecting bin M by the engagementtherewith of the undersides of the belts as the belts move from thepulleys 76 and 78 to the rollers 88 and 90. At the end of the thirdrotation of crank 100 the first three sheets, C, C1 and C2, will be inapproximately the positions shown in FIG. 3. The first sheet C will beinverted from writing table position and lying on the bottom 2 of bin M.The second sheet C1 will fold down and partially overlie sheet C withthe far end upturned and doubled back in engagement with belts 80 and82. The fold line between sheets C1 and C2 is indicated at 128 in FIG.3.

During the fourth rotation of crank 100 the belts 80 and 82 will carrythe remote end of sheet C1 forwardly to cause the fold line 128 to go tothe position shown in FIG. 4 so that Cl then rests on C. As rotation ofthe crank continues the sheet C2 will then fall down on top of sheet C1and the next sheet C3 at the end of rotation of crank 100 will be in thesame position as the sheet C1 shown in FIG. 6.

Thereafter as repeated rotations of crank 14% take place successivesheets, C, C1, C2, C3, C4, etc., will automatically be deposited andcorrectly folded in the collecting bin M. When the last bottom sheet isdeposited in the collecting bin M, the hinged rear wall 14 may then beswung upwardly to open the end of the compartment so that the collectedbottom sheets may be removed. All of the folded sheets in the collectingbin M will be inverted as compared with their original positions insupply compartment S.

To provide continuous tension on the sheets as they are advanced in themanner heretofore described, I have found it desirable to apply alimited amount of friction to the passage of the sheets over writingtable 28. This is accomplished through the use of two presser wires 135and 137 which are affixed to the underside of the lid 12 and extend ashort distance over the writing table 23. The wires are so shaped thatwhen the lid is closed they will exert pressure on the sheets to holdthem under limited tension as they are advanced by the feedingmechanism.

By the means heretofore described, I have provided an autographicregister which is able to present a plurality of superimposed sheets ofcontinuous folded forms at the writing position in the customary mannerbut thereafter the register is capable of delivering the bottom sheet toa collecting bin located substantially under the writing table and inpart under the supply compartment. This makes possible a very compactmachine. The simplicity of the parts and driving mechanisms tends toreduce the cost of manufacture.

A gravity actuated presser may be used if desired to hold the bottomsheets in proper folded condition as they gradually accumulate in thecollecting bin. This presser may be in the form of a wire 138 looselypivoted on the shaft 98 with its end extending toward the front of themachine through a vertical slot in the wall 38. As the pile of foldedsheets in the collecting bin rises the folded edges adjacent wall 38will be held down with light pressure exercised by the weight of presserarm 138-. The correct folding of the sheets in the collecting bin underthe influence of the belts 80 and 82 will occur with arm 138 omitted,but it is found that by using the arm the vertical dimension of theaccumulating sheets will be minimized whereby more folded 'sheets may beplaced in the collecting bin before removal becomes necessary.

It is my intention to cover all changes and modifications of the exampleof the invention herein chosen for purposes of the disclosure which donot constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In an autographic register a compartment for holding of connectedsheets, a writing table over which the sheets of the pack may be drawn,a collecting bin located under said table, a feeding mechanism includingcontinuous longitudinally extending friction belts for drawing saidsheets over said table, guide means for reversing the direction of andinverting the bottommost strip of connected sheets, said friction beltsfunctioning in cooperation with the feeding means for engaging theunderside of the said first bottommost sheet to move such first sheet toa flat inverted position in said collecting bin and to then engage theunder side of the next bottommost sheet to cause said next sheet to befirst rolled on itself until it overlies in non-inverted position thesaid first bottommost sheet while simultaneously moving the thirdbottommost sheet to flat folded inverted position over the said secondbottommost sheet and in a position corresponding to said first sheet andthereafter so long as said feeding means continues in operation torepeat the aforesaid procedures to reassemble all of the bottommostforms in a zigzag pack in said collecting bin.

2. In an autographic register including a writing table and a collectingbin located under said table and using a fiat pack of register formsinitially folded in zigzag relation, means for causing the bottommostform of a plurality of forms that are simultaneously moved over the saidtable to be re-folded in said bin, said moving and refolding meanscomprising a driving pulley and two idler pulleys, the first idlerpulley being to the rear of said driving pulley and the second idlerpulley being to the front of said driving pulley, a driving belt passingover said pulleys for advancing said forms upon rotation of said drivingpulley, said belt passing through said bin and moving from said drivingpulley to said second idler pulley and extending above and generallyparallel to the bottom of said bin, means closely spaced around saidfirst idler pulley for guiding the bottommost form downwardly andforwardly into said bin, that portion of said belt in said bin betweensaid driving pulley and second idler pulley engaging'the original underside of alternate forms fed thereto by said guiding means in doubledcondition to roll each said alternate form positively forwardly untilsaid alternate form is completely inverted to fall to the bottom of saidbin, said guiding means causing the next form to be delivered on top ofsaid alternate form without intervention of that part of the beltbetween said driving pulley and said second idler pulley, whereby allthe bottommost forms will be deposited in said collecting bin inzigzag-condition.

3. In an autographic register including a writing table and acollecting. bin located under said table and using a fiat pack ofregister forms initially folded in zigzag relation, means for causingthe bottommost form of a plurality of forms that are simultaneouslymoved over the said table tobe re-folded in said bin, said moving andrefolding means comprising a driving pulley and two idler pulleys, thefirst idler pulley being smaller than and having its axis above and tothe rear of that of said driving pulley and the second idler pulley'being smaller than and having its axis below and to the front of saiddriving pulley, a pair of laterally spaced driving belts passing oversaid pulleys for advancing said forms upon rotation of said drivingpulley, said belts passing through said bin from said driving pulley tosaid second idler pulley and extending above and generally parallel tothe bottom of said bin, means closely spaced around said first idlerpulley for reversing the direction of and for guiding the bottommostform downwardly and forwardly into said bin, those portions of saidbelts in said bin between; said driving pulley and second. idler pulleyengaging the thenupper, side of alternate forms fed thereto by saidguiding means in doubled condition to roll each said alternate formpositively forwardly until said alternate form is completely inverted tofall to the bottom of said bin, said guiding means causing the next formto be delivered on top of said alternate form without intervention ofthose parts of the belts between said driving pulley and said secondidler puller, whereby all the bottommost forms will be deposited in saidcollecting bin in zigzag condition. y

4. In an autographic register, a housing, a supply compartment, acollecting bin, a writing table overlying said supply compartment andsaid collecting 'bin at least in part, a continuous friction beltextending longituduinally of said machine and carriedby a drivingpulleyand two oppositely disposed idler pulleys, said belt to the rear of saidwriting table being substantially in horizontal alignment therewith, aflap overlying the rear end of said writing table and pivotedtransversely with the free end of said flap extending toward the frontend of said table, a downwardly curved housing atthe back of saidmachine beyond said flap and close to'the rear. idler pulley, saidhousing so located: that a continuous sheet having fold lines andpositioned between said writing table and flap and moved by said beltwill remain. within said housing to be reversed and delivered to saidbin while other continuous sheets positioned above said flap andsimultaneously moved by said belt will be directed exteriorly' of saidhousing, said belt extending horizontally through said bin andcomprising means as it moves from said driving pulley to said frontidler pulley for rolling those alternate sheets whose leading fold lineis at the rear of said bin into inverted position so that the rearfoldline is positioned at the front of said bin.

References Cited in the file of this patent

